The Effect Of School Entrance Age On Achievement In Selected Third Grades PDF Download

This study investigates whether gender and kindergarten entrance age affect students' achievement on the Ohio Third Grade Reading Achievement Assessment. More specifically, this study investigates whether kindergarten children with late birthdays (after July 1) and who reside in northwest Ohio score lower on the literacy component of the Ohio Third Grade Reading Achievement Assessment than their older peers with birthdays prior to July 1. The sample for this study is composed of 2,296 third-grade students who attended schools within 10 different school districts in rural northwest Ohio over a three-year period (2007, 2008, and 2009). The sample data consisted of total reading scores, birth dates and gender of the students in the sample. Analysis of the data was conducted using two statistical models: simple linear regression analysis, a series of two-sample t-tests, and a General Linear Model. Overall, the results of the regression analyses indicated a slight negative correlation (not statistically significant) between the age at kindergarten entrance and reading achievement scores, suggesting that the reading iv achievement scores for both boys and girls decreases as their age at kindergarten increases. Based on the t-test results, it can be concluded that there is no significant difference in the scores between boys with birthdays after July 1 and girls with birthdays after July 1 on the Ohio Third Grade Reading Achievement Assessment. The General Linear Model analysis indicated there were significant differences between the participating districts.